If there is one thing Minnesota Vikings fans have to be sick of hearing about, this offseason, it's all of the hype coming from the Windy City.
The Chicago Bears have been an easy target for a while now, but after they drafted Caleb Williams No. 1 overall, and added a good amount of talent around him, it's tough not to admit that they might be headed in the right direction.
For the past month or so, even non-Bears fans have probably watched a good amount of HBO's "Hard Knocks" featuring those Bears. After all, we have gone months without real football. NFL content is hard to come by over the dog days of summer.
Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Rypien calls the Chicago Bears "special" team
The series finished on Tuesday night, with the bulk of the episode containing roster cuts and the conversations that take place during that tough day. Of course, the Bears made one cut, which the Vikings were fortunate to pounce on.
Chicago released veteran quarterback Brett Rypien, who almost immediately signed with the Vikings. Even after the Vikings signed Rypien, though, HBO cameras still followed the quarterback as he was on his way to the airport. During that trip out of Chicago, Rypien talked about his stint with the Bears and his beliefs in the team going forward.
When speaking about the Bears after agreeing to a deal with Minnesota, Rypien did not shy away from his love for the organization.
"This team is gonna do special things this year. There's a lot of special people in that building," Rypien said.
While these words are kind and of high character, they're also not words Vikings fans want to hear. Rypien handled himself well throughout the series in the footage shown of him. He also had some bright spots in the preseason, which is why Minnesota went out and signed him.
But Minnesota fans don't want to hear words like that. Come on, now.
When push comes to shove, the Vikings need Rypien to be ready to go against the Bears, if it came to that.
With the way Vikings quarterbacks have come and gone over the past year or so, Rypien may indeed get a chance to play against his former team. Rookie J.J. McCarthy is out for the season, of course. And Sam Darnold is anything but a guarantee.
The Vikings don't play Chicago until Week 12 this season, which is quite a ways away. Anything could happen between now and then. God forbid an injury to Darnold, but that's just the reality of the NFL. Behind Darnold is Nick Mullens, who stuck around with the team.
Yet, again, nothing is certain in this league. If Darnold were to go down and Mullens performed erratically, Rypien would be the next man up. And it might even be a strategic move at that point for Rypien to start against the Bears.
If the Vikings happened to be still within reach of a postseason spot, yet Mullens wasn't getting it done, maybe it's a good move to get Rypien under center against Chicago.
This is all hypothetical, sure. But, the point is, Rypien better be ready to put his warm and fuzzies behind him if called upon. He's a Viking now. The Bears are in the rearview. Let's keep it that way.